Monthly Archives: September 2014

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Ever wonder what that mini monolithic-shaped computer you carry around in your pocket is made of?
Gallium? Check. Arsenic? Check. Lead and tin? Check and check. Good thing all that is safely housed inside and you're not...

In the film Minority Report, PreCrime police combine psychic premonitions with search and surveillance technology to prevent murders before they occur, resulting in a homicide-free society. Could a similar approach ultimately eradicate infectious diseases like malaria?
A recent project at UC San Francisco to leverage Google Earth is aiming to do...

Exoskeletons have made news in recent years for creating super-soldiers and allowing wheelchair users to walk again. Now, the US Navy will test and evaluate Lockheed Martin’s FORTIS exoskeletons for industrial applications at Navy...

Matt Rutherford, filmmaker and former producer of Charlie Rose, first met Salim Ismail at a birthday party in San Francisco. Over a beverage and some tech talk, the conversation turned to a new project...

While much of the media this week was obsessing over the latest gadget rollout from Apple, a handful of great stories made their way through the noise and showcase how technology is shifting the cultural fabric in surprising ways.
Enjoy our favorites from this week.
Gig Economy...

There’s a new bartender set to sail on Royal Caribbean’s next-generation cruise ship—a robotic bartender, to be precise. The Makr Shakr, created by designers at MIT Senseable City Lab, may not indulge stories of your...

We can all use an animal companion from time to time—a comforting presence that’s relatively low maintenance, warm, and furry. Pets offers no-drama company that’s hard to find in humans. Still, they come with a...

When the first Samsung smartwatch was released last year, there was a collective groan. It looked like a smartphone for your wrist, boasting a fraction of the capability. It was huge, heavy, and ugly....

The humanoid robot, Atlas, stands six feet tall and weighs three hundred pounds. The bot is built like an NFL offensive lineman, only substitute muscle, ligament, and bone for steel and hydraulics—and swap speed...

In an experiment to study how neurons form networks and compute, Thomas DeMarse, a University of Florida professor of biomedical engineering, says his lab-grown rat “brain” in a dish can fly a simulated F-22...